After finishing an impressive 12th in their inaugural Premier League campaign in the 2008/09 season, Tony Pulis’ side improved upon that last season by finishing 11th. This finish came in spite of the Potters scoring only 34 goals all season, with only Wolves (32) scoring fewer.

Thus far this summer, Stoke City have been linked with moves for West Ham’s Carlton Cole and Wigan’s Hugo Rodallega, and given their interest in both of those highly-rated strikers, they could afford to splash the cash on Santa Cruz, who, according to the report, would likely be available for less than half of the nearly 18m that City spent when they bought him from Blackburn last summer.

After scoring 19 goals in his debut campaign at Blackburn in the 2007/08 season, the last two seasons haven’t gone well for Santa Cruz. He scored only four league goals in an injury-plagued 2008/09 season, and in his first season at Eastlands, started only six league matches and scored only three goals.

Given his struggles over the last couple of seasons, there’d be some risk involved in making a move for Santa Cruz. However, with the chance to start regularly and rediscover his form, the Paraguayan could be just the man to help Stoke City make a move into the top half of the table this season.